VOICE-TO-TEXT WHILE DRIVING IS JUST AS DANGEROUS AS THE TRADITIONAL

Texting while driving has always been a dangerous activity and when cell phone companies installed a personal assistant on your device that allows you to text someone hands-free, most everyone automatically thought this was safer. But is this really a safer option than traditional texting? Contrary to popular belief, using voice-to-text is just as dangerous as traditional texting. You are still using the device mentally to think about the text that you want to send, listening to the response, and correcting any errors that were made. Before using the personal assistant to text your friends, family, or significant others, there are a few things to think about.

Here is a list of reasons why voice texting is just as dangerous:

• Mental Distractions – While using the personal assistant you are thinking about the text that you are sending and what you want to say rather than what is going on around you.
• Reaction Time – Your reaction time is twice as slow while using the voice-to-text method. You are not likely paying attention to the road around you and will have a slower braking time, be forced to swerve out of the way, or will not have time to stop.
• Amount of time it takes to use the voice texting – Personal assistants are not the best at texting because they deal with diction transcription. While using voice-to-text, some phrases, names, etc can be easily lost in translation. People often become frustrated with the device and have to deal with correcting errors.
• Eye contact with the road – Contrary to popular belief, you have the same loss of eye contact with the road whether you are using voice to text or texting traditionally.

Before using the voice-to-text option, think about the list above. In order to prevent accidents, it is recommended that you opt not to text while driving. For further questions, contact the Brothers in Law at (757) 599-6050.